Sunday, August 14, 2016

Jesus: Cause For Division

Today’s Gospel: Luke 12:49-53 (Jesus:
Cause For Division)“I
came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! I
have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is
accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell
you, but rather division; for henceforth in one house there will be five
divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided, father
against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter
against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."
Reflection:
Jesus pulls out all the stops, holds back no punches and says it like it is. Some
say Jesus was using a typical Hebrew hyperbole of his time; well whether He was
or He wasn’t, He was spot on with His disciples. There will be division indeed
because our faith is a relationship with Jesus; that must be prioritized above
and beyond even that of even our own family members. So simply saying that
alone would cause division. Living it certainly will cause even more division. How
many of you have lost friends and family because you have become a “Jesus Freak” now? I did and I know I
still do, people still delete and block me once they find out. I don’t care.

OK, Yes I do care, that they write me off and don’t want me or Jesus in their
lives; but that’s ok, that’s their free-will to do so, but it’s not stopping
me. How strong is your love for Jesus Christ? Are you compelled to always put
Jesus Christ first in your life? And if you do, how do those around you treat
you? What do they say to you? How do your respond? This is not a test; I am
not looking for your answers. But here are mine… Some people in general are
simply silent and avoid me. My faith is out there on my sleeve for all to see.
You like it great! If you don’t like it, oh well what can I say. In my life I live
like this and many of you may have heard this saying: Jesus First. Others
Second. Me Last.

Our lives will be judged by the actions and words and culmination of everything
we do while we are here. It is Almighty God who will make that judgement call.
He alone will decide our loyalty to Him. We can’t re-do anything once we are
called to Him. We can’t call a life line once we stand before Him. We can’t
seek an attorney for advice once questioning begins. We can’t change anything
we’ve said or done in our lives once we have done it. BUT, we can ask for
forgiveness and change our ways and seek Him out while we are alive. God knows
our hearts even better than we do. But keep in mind He knows our ulterior
motives, our hearts must be sincere and real and our love must be real. Then
His mercy and love will shower us with eternal love and understanding and He
will embrace us into eternity with Himself. We only have one chance in this
life to get it right; and none of us know when we will be called to Him, so do
all you can to be ready always…